This Scene Takes Three
by SecretAgent12
Summary: Owain is an aspiring actor who seems to have no luck with his job. Brady's a scary looking nurse who thinks he's the luckiest man on earth. Ophelia's just a little girl with two dads who are trying their best. This is their story, told through random points in their lives.
1. Visits from 'Nana'

**Hey worldwide web,**

 **So this started off as a drabble I posted on a forum thread, but I decided to expand upon it and then publish it in a set of stories featuring one of my OTPs from Awakening and their adorable little daughter. More to come soon I hope!  
**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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 **KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!**

"I'm comin' I'm comin'!" Brady shouted from the kitchen. He gave one last glance at the pile of dishes he had been trying to clean before walking over to the table. He set a fruit cup in front of his daughter. "Stay here," he whispered, kissing her on the head.

 **KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!**

Brady flung open the door. "What the hell is so damn important that- Ma?!" Brady was met with an expertly aimed parasol swat to the nose. "Ow!"

"Brady is that any way to talk to your mother?" Maribelle asked as she stepped through the door and into the house, not waiting for an invitation. Her son stood there, dumbfounded and rubbing his nose. "And with a child in the house no less. Also you need to be quicker at answering the door."

"This isn't really the best time," Brady began. "Ophelia's-"

"Oh where _is_ my little grand-darling?" Maribelle interrupted, giving a soft 'haha' at her own joke. She strode across the living room, giving a little 'hmph' at the sight of several newspapers with various cirlces on them sitting on the coffee table. "I see Owain is still looking for a job?"

"He's actually at an audition right now," Brady explained. "Which is why I'm here watching Ophelia and not at work."

Maribelle gave a soft gasp. "He's forcing you to take time off from your already insanely busy schedule to watch your daughter so he can go prance across a stage like some fool? The nerve of that boy, turning parenting into a chore. He has his father's wit, or lack thereof, that's for sure. I'm sure if Lissa had married someone nice like Frederick instead of...Vaike," she said the man's name with a high amount of prejudice, even by her standards. Brady glared at her. "Oh don't give me that look, you know I think Owain is a darling boy...I just wish he'd behave more like the man he _technically_ is."

 _I've seen things that proves how much of a man he is,_ Brady thought, his cheeks turning a rosy tint.

Maribelle scoffed. "Are you _really_ thinking lewd things in front of your own mother? And with your daughter in the next room?" Another gasp. "You left the child _alone_ in the next room?! Ophelia darling! Nana's coming to rescue you!" Maribelle stormed into the kitchen where Ophelia was just finishing her fruit cup.

Brady just sighed and followed his mother. When 'Nana' visited, it was really best to just wait things out. Visits usually went scolding, coddling (for Ophelia anyway), complaining about Owain, more scolding, one last cuddle with Ophelia, and then leaving. All of this usually took place in a grueling three hour time-frame, but so far they were only at three minutes and twenty-three seconds and it was already on to the coddling.

"Grandma!" The six-year old said excitedly, jumping off of her chair and throwing her arms around Maribelle.

Maribelle pursed her lips. She hated being called 'Grandma' and she and Lissa had often competed to see who would be gifted with the title of 'Nana' when Ophelia was first adopted. Ah, many tears had been shed (by Maribelle, after a box of wine had been opened) on the fateful night when Ophelia's fourth word was Nana, directed at Lissa. Actually, Ophelia had been facing both of her grandmothers, but Lissa swore up and down it was for her.

"How are you my darling?" Maribelle asked, picking up the child. She turned to leave the kitchen. "We'll be back by the time you finish your shift, don't worry. I'll make sure she eats a proper lunch. Maybe a cookie afterwards if she behaves. Oh of course she'll behave."

"Oh thanks- Hey wait a minute!" Brady hollered, following Maribelle out to the car. "Where are you taking my daughter?!"

"To the aquarium," Maribelle said, setting Ophelia down in the car seat and buckling her up. Ophelia gave an excited squeal. She loved the aquarium.

"You hate fish," Brady deadpanned.

Maribelle thought for a moment. "Well I enjoy eating fish from time to time." Brady raised an eyebrow. "Oh darling, must you be so proud? Where do you get it from? Your father? I could have sworn your father said pride was a sin but I suppose-" Brady was now glaring at her. "Oh. I see. Really Brady, I'm trying to help you. With me watching Ophelia you can go into work now and continue making the money that Owain...well...can't."

"I already called in sick, I can't go into work today," Brady argued.

"Why not?"

"I work at a hospital Ma!"

"Oh, still?" Maribelle shrugged. "Well then do some cleaning. Naga knows that Owain won't do it."

"Could ya please stop insulting Owain with Ophelia right there?" Brady asked, lowering his voice.

Maribelle glanced over at her granddaughter, who was busy playing with the switch that lowered and raised the window. "Oh, right, I'm...sorry." She turned to face her son. "I just...want my son and my granddaughter to be taken care of. It's hard to believe that after all of that time you spent being completely dependent on me and of little conventional use that you're finally old enough to do things for yourself." She sniffled and reached out to hug Brady.

"Ma please," Brady said, his voice already breaking. "Look, you go have a nice time at the aquarium, I'll try and see if they'll let me into work or if I can clean something. Thank you."

Maribelle immediately straightened up and clapped her hands. "Very well, I will see you later tonight." She climbed into the driver's seat and waved at her son as he went back inside. She looked in the mirror at the smiling girl in the backseat. "Ophelia darling, is it okay if we wait a little bit before we go to the aquarium?" Ophelia frowned. She wanted to go to the aquarium. "We'll go and see Daddy," Maribelle offered. Ophelia smiled and nodded. Maribelle began backing out of the driveway. "Yes, we'll go see Daddy and make absolutely certain he lands this audition. I'll call Grandpa and see if the director has said anything interesting during Confession recently..." She drove off to the local theater, happily humming a tune she used to sing to Ophelia.

Later that day, Brady had finished cleaning the kitchen and was starting up on the living room when the door burst open.

"Oh where art thou, my darling Brady?!" Owain called out, not noticing Brady was standing right there. Realization dawned on him and he swooped Brady up in a hug.

"How did the audition go?" Brady asked excitedly.

"Perfect!" Owain exclaimed. "I was the first to go on, and after some deliberation, the director canceled the rest of the auditions for the part of Romeo and said I had it. He must have been blown away by my performance!" He kissed Brady several times on the cheek. "Hey, where's Ophelia? I promised she could help me practice my lines."

"Oh she's out with my...Ma," Brady's voice trailed off. "Er...when exactly was your audition?"

"A little bit before noon," Owain said, setting Brady down. "Why?"

"No reason," Brady said quickly. "Tell me more about the audition." He sat down on the couch and grunted as Owain jumped onto his lap.

"Well we were requested to give a monologue," Owain recounted, "but the one they had us memorize was a bit dry. So I added some extra scenes and a battle flashback to make it interesting. Man you should have seen the director after my dramatic death scene at the end. I've never seen someone so pale."

 _Yeah, I'm sure your acting was what made him pale,_ Brady thought, remembering that the director went to the church his father ran. "That's great! I'm so proud of you." He ran his fingers through Owain's hair. "If Romeo ever needs a Juliet to practice on...I'm your man." He gave a smirk and started kissing down Owain's face.

"Thanks, but Ophelia wants to be Juliet!" Owain said, oblivious as ever. "Oh but you can be Tybalt if you want. Hey, maybe I can call up the director and..." Brady just rolled his eyes as Owain began looking for the correct number to call on his phone. When Ophelia got brought home he'd have words with his mother, but first he'd thank her for this. It had been a long time since Owain had been this happy.

Now Maribelle might not have enjoyed her son living with this man, or in her opinion, this boy, but she knew that what mattered most was Brady being happy. So she felt pretty damn proud of herself later that night when she left the house and saw Owain running excitedly around the living room with Ophelia on his shoulders and Brady laughing from across the room. Still, she was a grandmother, and she had a job to do. She opened up her phone and dialed Brady's number.

"Make sure Owain doesn't run into a wall," she said into the phone.

"Ma are you watching us from the driveway?!"

"Love you darling!"


	2. The Retrograde Gathering of Fun Seekers

**Hey worldwide web,**

 **Heh, so it's been a while since I updated this. Almost an entire year. But don't worry I'm back at it again with some brand new ideas (this one in particular was sitting for 8 months with none of it written but shhhhh)!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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Brady had sprayed and wiped at the spot on the table five times now, and it still hadn't gone away. He wasn't sure what it was from. It was about the size of a quarter and easily noticeable against the dark wood. If he had to guess, it was from a glass. Normally they just ignored it, or if necessary covered it up with a place mat, but this time was different. They had guests coming over, and Brady had been taught from a _very_ young age that guests deserved only the best.

Owain had a different mindset however. "Sweetheart," he said gently, stopping Brady's hands with his own, "as much as I admire your dedication to perfecting our home, I don't think a couple of eight year-olds will so much as notice a spot on the table."

Brady sighed and set aside the rag he was using. "Yer right," he sighed. "I just want the house to look perfect. Ophelia hasn't had a play date here in a couple of months. It's always been at someone else's house. What if she's just embarrassed of people seeing where she lives? What if-"

"Ophelia's been talking non-stop about all the things she and her friends are going to do today," Owain reminded him. "It's been the only thing on her mind for the past week. She wouldn't do that if she was embarrassed of the house."

To emphasize the point, he glanced around the kitchen. The house actually belonged to Brady's mother, as Owain was still looking for work and Brady's hours at the hospital were shorter now that Ophelia was out of school for the summer. They would have been more than happy to get an apartment, but Maribelle insisted she do this for them. She had dipped into some inheritance from a rich uncle or maybe her father, her entire family tree just confused Owain, and bought them the house. It was a gesture they were extremely grateful for, even if it made Brady anxious about keeping it clean.

While she was a doting mother, Maribelle wasn't going to hand _everything_ to her son. Owain and Brady were in charge of paying utilities and any other upkeep, but Maribelle's name was on all the other paperwork. And of course they had to deal with her almost daily calls or visits to look at the house.

A door could be heard opening upstairs, meaning the third member of the family was now up. Brady lowered his voice. "What if," he said, "what if it's not the house she's embarrassed of. What if it's us?"

Owain's smile faltered. This had been a common worry of Brady's since the day Ophelia didn't need him to walk her into her classroom at school. It was a natural worry, his own mother had told him, that children were growing up and might not need their parents around.

"Ophelia would never been embarrassed by us," Owain said firmly. "Why would she? We're great!"

Before Brady could give a response, they heard the pitter-patter of feet running down the stairs. Ophelia burst into the kitchen, still in her pajamas.

"Good morning my little Chosen One," Owain greeted, opening the pantry to retrieve a box of Ophelia's favorite cereal. Brady didn't like buying it, said it had more marshmallows than actual cereal pieces, but Owain couldn't deny her something like that.

"Morning Daddy!" Ophelia said, climbing onto a chair and sitting on her knees so she could look taller. Owain handed her a spoon and poured some milk into her cereal bowl. "Do you know what day it is?"

"Hm..." Owain said, thinking for a long time. "I'm not sure...dear do you know what day it is?" Ophelia rolled her eyes and turned to look at Brady.

Brady raised an eyebrow, but quickly caught on. "Oh...uh...it's Tuesday. Right?"

"Noooooooo," Ophelia said with a huff. "Today's the day that Soleil comes over!"

Owain gasped. "Oh! Is that today?" He asked. He made a show of looking at the calendar, where the day was neatly marked with the words "Ophelia's Friends Come Over". "By the gods, it is! What a glorious turn of events."

"I can't believe you forgot," Ophelia said, shaking her head and crossing her arms. "When's Soleil getting here?"

"Not until later darling," Owain answered. "And remember, it's not just Soleil who's going to be here."

"Oh," Ophelia replied, looking down at her cereal. "Yeah...and Nina." The kitchen was silent for a little bit before Ophelia spoke up again. "Why does _she_ have to come here?"

"Nina's your friend," Brady pointed out.

"No," Ophelia corrected, "she's Soleil's friend. And all they do is fight."

"Nina invited you to her house that one time," Owain reminded her. "It's honorable and polite to invite her over to your house in return."

"Okay..." Ophelia sighed. She finished her cereal and hopped off the chair. "I'm going to go get ready!"

"What are you going to do during yer play date?" Brady asked.

"Daaaaaad," Ophelia groaned, "they're not called 'play dates' anymore. It's called 'hanging out'."

"Oh, sorry," Brady mumbled, "well what are you going to do while yer hanging out? Have a tea party or something? I can make you some real tea-"

"Go on an adventure!" Ophelia declared excitedly. "An adventure so great and mysterious I won't even know what to name it until after it's over."

Ophelia had developed a habit of naming things nobody would think needed to be named. It was Owain's fault, always spending time naming scenes or characters from whatever play he was interested in. It had quickly rubbed off on Ophelia and Owain was too proud to tell her to stop.

Ophelia ran upstairs to go get dressed. Owain gave Brady a smile. "A tea party?" He said with a laugh.

"That's what I did when I had play-" Brady sighed, "I mean, when I 'hung out'. I better go make sure she's wearing somethin' nice an' not an old Halloween costume."

Once Ophelia was, begrudgingly, dressed appropriately, the process of waiting for her friends to arrive began. Ophelia waited impatiently in the living room, glancing out the window every five seconds to see if a car was pulling up in the driveway. Ironically, it was when she had taken a break to use the bathroom that a minivan appeared in front of the house.

Owain opened the door and walked down the front steps. Two little girls, one wearing an ornate headband in her long pink hair and the other with two dark blue pigtails, ran out of the vehicle and toward the front door.

"Inigo my friend!" Owain called to the main getting out of the van. "While I am happy to see you once again, I had been hoping that Niles would be dropping Nina off separately so we could catch up."

Inigo just laughed and shook his head. "Always one for wasting words I see," he said. "Niles called me last minute and asked if I could drive Nina. He was caught up with something at work and Corrin had to take Kana to the doctor."

Owain frowned. "Well I hope he's alright," he said. Niles' work wasn't the safest at times, and getting caught up with something could mean a number of things. "Anyways, it's good to see you again."

"It's only been a couple of days," Inigo chided. "You couldn't miss me-"

"SOLEIL!" Ophelia cried, running out the front door and into her friend's waiting arms. The two girls jumped up and down excitedly for a couple of seconds, leaving Nina awkwardly standing off to the side. "Oh, and...hi Nina." Owain glared at her. She glared back before grabbing both girls' hands and pulling them into the house where Brady was waiting.

"I wish we had more time to talk," Inigo admitted, "but I've got to get going, dance practice and all." He looked off to the side and then squinted. "Is that...is that Severa?"

Owain turned to look in the same direction, and sure enough a candy apple red sports car was indeed speeding down the street. It came screeching to a stop at the end of Owain's driveway. The driver's door was thrown open and out stepped a woman who was clearly pissed off about something. Her large, red twin pigtails shook vigorously as she opened up the passenger side door and helped someone else out of the car.

At first, both Owain and Inigo thought it was Severa's mother. It took them a few seconds to realize that it was just a young girl that _looked_ like Severa's mother.

"Um, is there a problem?" Severa asked as she and the girl walked up the driveway. The girl watched Severa, trying to copy the angry way she stormed up the cement slope, but ended up stumbling and almost falling completely.

"Is that your daughter?" Owain asked.

Severa rolled her eyes. "No," she said, "it's some random girl I kidnapped and brought to your house. Any more stupid questions?"

"I"m Caeldori," the girl said brightly, sticking out her hand to shook Owain's hand, and then Inigo's, before looking back at Owain. "My mom took me to see one of your shows. You played the man with the trumpet. That was really funny!"

"I didn't know you went to see that show," Owain exclaimed. "Why didn't you say something?"

"Must have slipped my mind," Severa mumbled, her face taking on a slight pink tinge. "Anyways, this is my daughter. Now you've met. I'll pick her up at three." She put her hand on the girl's shoulder, but didn't look at her. "Be good." Owain and Inigo exchanged glances. "What? Aren't you going to show her inside?"

The front door opened and Brady stepped outside. "Hey are you guys done talking- oh hey Severa!"

"Oh gawds," Severa sighed. "Caeldori, that's Brady, remember me telling you about him?"

"Is he the one that helped you become less shy in school?" Caeldori asked.

"Gah, yes, b-but that's private!" Severa said, getting flustered. "Just go inside!" Caeldori nodded obediently and walked toward Brady, who paused for a second, before kneeling down to talk to her before leading her inside. "What now?!" Severa snapped, since Owain and Inigo were now staring at her.

"Did you just dump your kid at their house?" Inigo asked, folding his arms over his chest. "That's low even for you."

"We're always happy to have guests over," Owain said, stepping between the two. He then gave Severa an apologetic look. "But we would have appreciated you calling first. Ophelia made plans to have some friends over today"

"Fine," Severa huffed, not making eye contact, "sorry I forgot you two were Parents of the Year. I have to work and it's not exactly appropriate to take your daughter with you to a domestic abuse shelter." She sighed. "I just...knew she'd have a potential friend here."

"Where's Mr. Perfect?" Inigo asked.

"Work," Severa said, glaring due to the nickname, "I was going to have him drop Caeldori off but given how _wonderful_ the last time the three of you were together went-"

"Hey we apologized for calling him...Suckbaki," Owain said, holding back a laugh.

"And Subadouche," Inigo added, "although punching him in the face is something we didn't apologize for."

"I was there," Severa said flatly. "Anyways, I'm sorry for the short notice or whatever. I only work until two-thirty and then I can come back and pick her up."

"You know she looks a lot like," Owain began, but Severa's narrowing eyes made him stop. "Right, she'll be just fine in our care. Brady and I will watch over her with honor and guard her with our lives should the need ever arise-"

"I get it, gawds," Severa interrupted. "Geez, this is why I never tell you when I go to your shows. You're so damn extra. Nice seeing you, jerks!" With a super aggressive wave, she stormed back down the driveway, got in her car, and sped off.

The two men watched the now empty spot in the street for a few seconds, before Inigo mumbled "Suckbaki" under his breath and the two burst into a fit of laughter. Inigo bid Owain farewell and left for his dance practice, and Owain returned to his house.

Brady was waiting for him in the living room. "Everything alright with Severa?" He asked worriedly.

"Fear not my love," Owain said, grinning and wrapping his arms around Brady. "Our dear friend is merely occupied with her honorable duty, and must entrust her daughter with us for the day."

"So she's fine then," Brady said, only cracking half a smile. "I'm glad. I showed Caeldori to Ophelia's room. I think Ophelia was glad to have a fourth person so she doesn't feel left out when Nina and Soleil start to argue."

"Excellent," Owain said, arms still around Brady, "that means we can just sit and-" He stopped as he noticed Caeldori coming down the stairs. Owain let go of Brady and walked over to the girl.

"Excuse me Mr. Owain," Caeldori said politely, thinking over each word before saying it. "Could you tell me where the bathroom is?"

"Sure," Owain replied, leading Caeldori to the bathroom. She thanked him and went inside. Owain returned to Brady in the living room. "Hard to believe she's so polite and yet she's Severa's daughter. You know she looks exactly like her mom. It's uncanny."

"I wonder what Severa thinks of that," Brady said softly. "I can't believe we've gone this long without seein' her. She's only two years older than Ophelia, and the last time I remember seein' her was a couple weeks after we brought Ophelia home." Owain vaguely recalled seeing a small toddler with bright red hair accompanying Severa, but nothing else.

There was some excited yelling coming from the upstairs, followed by Ophelia, Soleil, and Nina running down the steps. "We're going to the backyard!" Ophelia called out as she ran to unlock the backdoor so the three girls could play.

"Don't get all muddy!" Brady hollered back, but knew there was a good chance they would ignore him. A few seconds later Caeldori wandered back from the bathroom. "The rest of the girls just went outside," Brady told her.

"Oh," Caeldori said softly, "okay." She turned to look out the window and see the three girls playing around in the grass.

"Is everything okay?" Owain asked the girl. "Are the other girls taking turns and everything? If not I can go out there and make sure they're playing fairly."

"No they're taking turns," Caeldori reassured, "I just...don't play with a lot of kids. So I don't know how to play a lot of their games."

 _It probably doesn't help that Ophelia does nothing but make up her own games,_ both Brady and Owain thought. "Well," Owain said, "even if you don't know how to play them, I'm sure Ophelia would love to explain it if you asked." Caeldori just looked down at her feet. Apparently she was more than just physically similar to Severa's mother.

"Just watch them to start," Brady suggested. "If they're taking turns, offer to go last so you can see what the other three do. Then you can just try and copy the other three to figure it out."

Caeldori's face perked up. "I can do that!" She said, turning to run to the door to the backyard. As she opened it, she turned back to Brady. "My mom was right, you really are good with helping people!" Before Brady could stammer out a response, the girl had joined the others in some wild made up game of Ophelia's invention.

"I didn't know you gave so much advice," Owain teased.

"I just helped her get over a few things," Brady said, blushing. "It was nothin' important. At least, she didn't say it was or nothing'."

"Well what sort of advice would you have given me?" Owain asked curiously. "I had my fair share of things to get over."

Brady snorted. "Yourself maybe," he said. Owain feigned a hurt look. "Naw, I think you were perfect just the way you were. And still are." He leaned over to kiss Owain and nearly jumped as he saw a face pressed against the back window. He relaxed once he realized it was just one of the kids.

Nina was staring intensely at the two men, until Brady awkwardly waved and she dashed away from the glass. "Does she normally do that?" Brady asked, having not been around the child that often.

"I don't think so," Owain said, shrugging. "Niles is just a weirdo. His kid probably picked up his whole lurking thing too. Speaking of which, she's back."

Nina was now up in the tree in the backyard, poised on a branch that allowed her to see through the top of the window. Her pigtails gave her away, however, dangling below the cluster of leaves. Owain made a funny face and she nearly fell out of the tree.

"Be careful," Brady warned. "What do you think she's doing?"

"Probably just one of Ophelia's adventures," Owain said. "Maybe we're the bad guys in this one. Come on, let's go surprise 'em." The two men got up from the couch and walked over to the garage. It had a door that led to the backyard that was hidden behind a couple of shrubs. They quietly entered the yard and watching.

"Somebody come save me," Ophelia said in fake distress. She was standing sitting on a lawn chair with her hands behind her back, pretending to be tied up. "If only somebody could save me!" Then there was silence. "Soleil that's your guys' cue-"

"RAWR!" Owain bellowed, running out from behind the bushes and toward Ophelia.

"Oh no a giant's attacking!" Ophelia cried, actually screaming in surprise. Brady came following behind Owain, albeit not as dramatic. "Oh no there's two giants!"

"Uh, is this part of the plan?" Caeldori asked. She and Soleil were standing near the shed, holding a plastic golf club and a bucket respectively.

"I don't know," Soleil said with a shrug. "But we need to go save the girl and get our kiss, so let's go." She ran toward Ophelia and Caledori, not nearly as enthusiastic about recieving a kiss, followed. Soleil made it over to Owain, who had now picked Ophelia up out of the chair, and began hitting his leg with the plastic bucket. "In the name of all that is cute," Soleil yelled in as deep a voice as she could muster, "be gone!"

Owain took a fake stumble and set Ophelia down on the ground. Soleil, satisfied, grabbing Ophelia's hand and took her away from him. Caeldori, not sure what to do, tapped Owain's foot with her golf club. He made sure to seize dramatically to show he had been "hurt" and she ended up laughing before joining back up with Ophelia and Soleil.

"Daaaaaaad," Ophelia said once she had been rescued and given Soleil a kiss on the cheek, more so the girl would leave her alone about it, "there weren't supposed to be any giants in that story. Now I'll have to think of a new name for it."

"Sorry sweetheart," Owain chuckled, "but it looks like you're missing a member."

Ophelia looked around. "Ugh," she said, "Nina where are you?!"

The bushes near Brady rustled, making him jump back. Nina came tumbling out of them, a few scrapes on her arms, legs, and face. "I'm right here," she said.

"What were you doing in there?" Ophelia asked, putting her hands on her hips. "You were supposed to be rescuing me!"

"I was distracting the giants," Nina said, looking at Owain and Brady, "but they got past me. Sorry!"

"Okay," Ophelia sighed, "let's go back inside. I can show you guys the new doll I got. I got to name her all by myself." The girls went back inside, Soleil with her arm around Ophelia and Caeldori next to them actually listening to Ophelia's explanation of the name.

"Nina let's get you cleaned up first," Brady said, helping the girl to her feet. Nina just nodded and walked back inside. Brady helped her sit up on the kitchen counter while he got some bandages.

"I'm sorry for spying," she blurted out.

"Is that what you were doin'?" Brady asked as he gently wiped at the scrapes with a damp cloth. Nina nodded. "Well that's okay, unless something was wrong."

"No," Nina said, her voice barely above a whisper, "but...Ophelia's the only one I know with two dads." Brady stopped and looked at her, waiting for her to continue. "Um, besides me," Nina added. "I like knowing I'm not the only one. I just wanted to see if...if...if you guys were like my dads..."

"Ah, I see," Brady said. He reached into the box of child bandages and held up two bandages with different patterns. "Flowers or kittens?"

"Kittens," Nina said, pointing at the one she wanted.

"Those are my favorite," Brady said with a nod, making Nina smile. He began to cover the scrapes with the bandages. "So are we like your dads?"

"Kind of," Nina replied. "You smile at each other a lot, which is nice. And you hug and stuff. Daddy doesn't like to make as many jokes though. Papa makes him laugh though."

"That's good," Brady told her. He didn't know much about Nina's fathers. Owain knew Niles from a few years back, and Brady had met him several times. Corrin was a relatively new person in Niles' life, based on what Owain had told him. Niles had actually gotten custody of Nina before he met Corrin. It had been a few years now, but Brady understood Nina's curiosity.

"If you have any questions about it," Brady said gently, "you can always ask Ophelia."

"I don't think Ophelia likes me very much," Nina admitted.

"'Course she likes you," Brady promised. "And I'm sure if you asked she'd tell you all about it." He put on the last bandage. "Alright Miss, yer patched up."

"Thanks Mr. Brady," Nina said, letting him help her off the counter. She ran upstairs, leaving Brady in the kitchen, away silently sitting at the table, smiling.

"So Soleil's next up right?" Owain joked. Brady rolled his eyes. "I'm just kidding, if she's anything like her dad she's having the time of her life."

"She's eight," Brady scolded. Owain just laughed.

The two settled in and watched some TV, occasionally checking in on the girls. At lunch they served the girls sandwiches, applesauce, and animal crackers. Ophelia insisted on making the animal crackers "fight" by mashing two different shaped ones together.

"What about like this?" Caeldori asked, pressing an elephant cracker and a lion cracker together with her palms, making them break. Crumbs scattered all over her plate and onto the table. "Oh, sorry!" Instead of pointing out the mess, the others just laughed.

"I want to try it like that!" Ophelia said, clapping her hands together and smashing up two animal crackers. "Cool!" Nina and Soleil tried as well until most of their animal crackers were nothing more than a fine powder. Owain just squeezed Brady's hand to keep him from going over and cleaning up the mess. There would be time for that later.

The hours after lunch went by much faster, with the summer heat keeping the girls inside for the rest of the day. Soon Owain and Brady were greeted by Niles showing up at their door, ready to take Nina home.

"Did you have fun?" He asked his daughter, picking her up.

"Mhm," Nina replied, hugging Niles tightly.

"Woah!" He said with a laugh. "Did you miss me that much?"

"No, not really," Nina said, sticking her tongue out.

"Alright let's get you home," Niles said, shaking his head. He bid his friends farewell before getting Nina situated in the car.

Severa was next, this time in a surprisingly better mood. She didn't say much to her friends this time around, but her expression seemed grateful as Caeldori began to happily tell her what she had done all day. Inigo appeared shortly after and practically had to drag Soleil away from her best friend.

"I don't know how you two do it," Inigo chuckled, "four kids at once. I hope she wasn't too much trouble for you. I know she can get...intense at times."

"The other ones kept us on our toes, but Soleil was pretty relaxed the whole time," Brady admitted.

Inigo gave a full laugh this time around. "Well that's good to hear," he said, trying to keep Soleil from squirming out of his grip. "Let's do this again sometimes!" He gave them one final wave before carrying his daughter out to the car.

Brady and Owain fell back onto the couch, thoroughly exhausted from the day, but it wasn't over yet. Ophelia slowly came down the stairs and climbed onto the couch, sitting between her dads.

"Did you have fun today sweetheart?" Owain asked, grabbing her hand.

"Yeah," Ophelia replied with a yawn, "tons of fun. So much fun I was able to come up with a great name for today. The Retrograde Gathering of Fun Seekers!"

"Sounds like a perfect name," Owain declared. "Although now I think I need a nap. How about you Brady? Brady?" He looked over at Brady, who was snoring on the couch. Ophelia was also dozing peacefully. "Hey no fair!" He curled up on the couch and, making sure he wasn't going to fall onto his daughter, fell asleep with his family.


	3. Weekend Away Part 1

**Hey worldwide web,**

 **Chapter three is here and takes the focus away from Ophelia to feature Owain and Brady a bit more. To make up for it, the next chapter will have less of her fathers and more of her.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Being working parents kept Owain and Brady quite busy. Well, mostly working. Brady had a steady job as a nurse at the local children's hospital, but Owain was usually in and out of work depending on what director was working at the theater. When he wasn't working, he was keeping house or looking for more work. Down time was far and few, so they were both surprised when Brady's two days off came and Ophelia wasn't in the house. She was staying at Lissa's house, spending some much needed time with her rightful Nana. Maribelle would likely drop by, as the two women were friends, and they would definitely argue about the name. The bigger issue was figuring out how to spend this time without a child or work (Owain was going through another phase of unemployment).

The first solution was obvious, and took up most of the morning and neither of them saw the house outside of their bedroom until almost noon. Eventually supplies of certain things ran low however and they were forced to face the day.

"So what are we going to do?" Brady asked as Owain got dressed.

"Something grand befitting of a perfect day off," Owain replied, pulling on a shirt. "A day that's," he checked his phone, "over halfway over! Come on Brady, let's hit the town or something. Call up Severa and Inigo and see if we can go out for drinks."

"But," Brady began, but then stopped.

"But what?" Owain asked, sitting down on the bed next to him.

"It's just...whenever we're with them and it's just the four of us...I feel so left out," Brady admitted. "The three of you have all yer college stories and stuff, it's easy to feel like a fourth wheel. It's kinda selfish but-"

"No you're right," Owain reassured him. "How about this then? We have them bring their significant others as well. Inigo can bring Orochi and Severa can bring...ugh, Subaki."

"How do you know the others are goin' to be free?" Brady asked as Owain pulled out his phone.

"They love us," Owain said, pressing the phone to his ear. "They wouldn't miss out on a chance to spend some time with us. Hey Severa! What do you think about going out with me, Brady, Inigo, and Orochi tonight? Yeah bring Subaki. No I'm not going to punch him in the face. Probably. Yeah it'll be the place downtown. You know, the one downtown. With the fountain. No the other one. The one we went to before senior prom! Yes I remember that, don't call me a dork. Six sounds fine. Okay bye."

"So was that a yes?" Brady asked, leaning forward. Owain nodded and made a second call, which this time it didn't last for nearly as long. By the end they had a full group of six going to Papa Basilio's, an Italian-Mexican restaurant that had been around for decades.

"Well now that we know where and when," Owain said, "what are we going to wear? As charming as we looked, it's probably best if we don't wear the same outfit again."

"That was your idea," Brady grumbled. "And it didn't help that you wrestled me out of every other outfit I put on."

"Well I swear that I will not do that tonight my love," Owain declared. "We shall both be equally dashing, just in different outfits."

Said outfits were picked out and eventually the time came for them to depart to Papa Basilio's. The restaurant was located on one of the main streets of Ylisse, directly across from Mama Flavia's, an almost identical establishment that served the same type of food. The menu items were all different, and they even carried different brands of soda, but it was very easy to get confused about which restaurant one was in if the owner wasn't present. Owain and Brady had no true preference, but decided to go to Papa Basilio's out of nostalgia.

They pulled up on the side of the street at 6:05, much to Brady's chagrin. He had been fussing over timing the entire drive to the restaurant.

"Brady we're fine," Owain promised him. "Nobody's called us yet to ask where we are so it's okay. Let's just go inside." Brady sighed and nodded, getting out of the car and following Owain into the restaurant. They hostess had been expecting them and led them toward the back where a large round booth was already mostly filled.

"Took you long enough," Severa said, folding her arms over her chest. "Who's late to their own get together?"

"We're not just late," Owain corrected, "we're fashionably late." He slipped into the booth next to Brady, who was sitting next to a woman with long violet hair put up in a bun.

"It's nice to see you boys again," the woman said with a cheeky smile.

"Ah fair Orochi," Owain said. "The stage at the theater is lonely without a friend. I sure hope you'll consider auditioning for one of the future shows."

"As much as I enjoyed the community theater," Orochi said slyly, "I believe I told you that was a one time thing. Several times."

"But you were so good at it!" Owain exclaimed.

A waiter came to take drink orders, and after he left Orochi replied with, "Thank you, but acting just isn't for me. Give me a dance recital any day, however."

"Here here," Inigo added with a chuckle.

"I suppose the crowds we drew in will just have to delight in knowing they were the only ones to see the beauty of Odin Dark and the great Orochi in action," Owain sighed.

Subaki snorted. "Odin Dark?" He said. "Is that like, a stage name or something?"

"Oh don't get him started," Severa muttered.

"Odin Dark is more than just a mere stage name!" Owain declared. "It is the moniker I took up upon first gracing the stage with my footsteps way back in our junior high production of Starlight Express. Since then, every playbill has been printed and pressed with my role preceded by the name Owain dash Odin Dark. The name has seen me in my darkest moments, as well as my happiest. The name shall forever be immortalized in the print of those playbills as a testament to all the performances we've seen together."

Owain stared up at the ceiling, as if consulting a higher power, his eyes watering with emotion. Across from him, Severa had her face buried in her hands. Inigo awkwardly refused to look at Owain, while Orochi sat next to him giggling to herself. Brady's eyes stared up at the thespian in wonder, a dull blush across his face. He loved seeing Owain get excited about something that others would mostly roll their eyes at.

"But wouldn't people get confused that it was your actual name?" Subaki said, proving Brady's point by rolling his eyes.

Owain frowned. "I don't know," he said, "do people get confused when they see your name isn't spelled-"

"Suckbaki?" Subaki guessed. "You've used that one before."

"No," Owain huffed, "I was gonna say-"

"Are we interested in any appetizers?" The waiter asked, setting down drinks for the group. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the giant margarita glass that had been set down in front of Severa.

"What?!" She asked defensively. "I'm not driving home! And he's the one paying for it." She jerked her thumb at Subaki, who had opted for a simple glass of water with a lemon wedge. "Jerks," she mumbled, tilting to giant glass to her lips and muffling out anything else she was mumbling.

"We'll take some garlic knots," Subaki told the waiter.

"Anyways," Orochi said, "speaking of names, Inigo dear do you remember when we first met in that bar?"

"How could I forget?" Inigo asked, flashing a smile. "Best day of my life."

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight," Orochi said with a wink. "Do you remember how you introduced yourself to me?"

Inigo's cheeks began to flush as he realized that all eyes were now on him. "I uh...don't recall exactly," he said with an awkward cough.

"You told me you were a dancer," Orochi explained, "and that you were looking for a girl to do a dance with and thought I'd be perfect for it. What were the words you used? Dancing 'cheek to cheek'?" Everyone at the table, save for Inigo, laughed. "That's not all," Orochi added.

"Oh but isn't it?" Inigo asked desperately. "After you turned down my offer to dance there wasn't much more to that night that I recall."

"You didn't introduce yourself to me as Inigo though," Orochi said. "You called yourself...Laslow."

The entire table was silent, until Severa burst out laughing. "Laslow?!" She repeated, absolutely shaking in fits of laughter. Subaki subtly slid her almost empty glass away from her. "Of all the names, you chose _Laslow_?!"

"Well in my defense I had to come up with it on the fly," Inigo stammered. "I told her my real name the next time we met up. I would never lead someone so dear to me astray like that."

"Still that's sooooooo lame," Severa taunted. "Like, really lame."

"Now, now," Subaki said, "you've used a fake name before. You told me your name was Selena and let me believe that for our first three dates."

"I wasn't sure if I liked you enough or not," Severa grumbled. "I wasn't too impressed until the fourth date anyways."

"I found you quite remarkable even before the first one," Subaki said honestly.

"Why do you have to go and say stuff like that?" Severa sighed. "Making me all sentimental in front of my friends. Dummy."

The garlic knots arrived at the table and the waiter took everyone's orders. Severa made it a point to order the most expensive thing on the menu, something in Spanish she probably didn't even like. Owain ordered a huge bowl of spaghetti while the rest of the table ordered lighter, healthier options.

"So how were you all able to get out of the house?" Subaki asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"We walked out the front door," Owain muttered, making Inigo choke on his drink. Brady elbowed him.

"Ophelia's at her grandma's house," Brady answered. "She's spending the whole weekend with her."

"Lucky," Severa said, "we had to call a sitter. It's stupid we can't just leave Caeldori home by herself, she'd be fine."

"That's the law dear," Subaki reminded her.

"Well it's a stupid law."

"My friend Reina is watching Soleil for the night," Orochi explained. "I'm sure the two are playing age inappropriate video games right now." Inigo gave her a look. "What? It's just a prediction. I'm not going to call and find out."

"So are you still doing that fortune telling business?" Subaki asked in yet another attempt to start a conversation that didn't suck. Orochi had known Subaki from when they were younger, and didn't have anything against him.

"Just for close friends at a very reduced rate," she replied. "I work at a hair salon not too far from here now, although I'd love to be able to get my own place."

"We're working toward that," Inigo said. "It can be right next to the dance studio I'm going to have for myself. Then whenever you start to miss me you can just go through the connecting door and see me whenever you want."

"If I had a door that connected me to Inigo twenty-four-seven I'd invest in a padlock," Severa admitted. Orochi giggled at the remark.

The food arrived faster than they had been expecting, and soon everyone began to dig into their respective meals. Everyone except for Severa, who had discovered that what she had ordered was a massive plate of enchiladas drowned in several types of cheese and beans. She requested a carry-out box and placed an order for something new.

"Caeldori can have it," she said. "Saves me from having to make a lunch for her tomorrow."

"You can cook?" Orochi asked curiously.

"Of course I can cook," Severa said. "What sort of mother would I be if I didn't know how to provide my child with food? I make a killer stew. Nobody that's ever tried it has complained, except for one guy and er...my mother, but her opinion is hardly worth listening to."

"Here we go," Inigo sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Wow thanks for letting me know I can open up about personal issues," Severa snapped. "How about I just don't say anything for the rest of the night if that's what will make you happy?"

"Nobody's saying that," Subaki reassured her.

"I know that, gawds," Severa groaned. "It was all implied. Ugh I need to drink something that isn't mostly alcohol now. Waiter!" The waiter walked over to the table and took Severa's second drink order. He came back a few minutes later with a new drink and a bowl of noodles in Alfredo sauce. She picked at it as the others finished up their meals.

Orochi's phone buzzed and she casually opened it up to check the message. Her eyes bugged out as she read it and immediately showed it to Inigo, who once again choked on his drink.

"Is she serious?" He asked his wife worriedly.

"With Reina it's better to be safe than sorry," Orochi admitted sheepishly, before turning to the others. "Sorry everyone, but we have to go. Reina's...uh...misplaced Soleil and we need to go help her find her."

"How do ya misplace a kid?" Brady asked, confused.

"Reina's not the most responsible," Subaki commented in an understanding tone. He helped Severa slide out of the booth so Orochi and Inigo could exit.

"Way to choose a sucky babysitter," Severa said to Inigo, sticking her tongue out at him. Inigo ignored her and went with his wife went to go pay for their meal before leaving.

"Well that was unexpected," Subaki chuckled. "I've only met Reina a couple of times and she's a good person, but I wouldn't exactly trust her with my child. Although Caeldori's plenty responsible on her own, she gets kind of freaked out when she's by herself."

"We once lost Ophelia in a grocery store," Brady recalled, "that was a scary day. None of us stopped cryin' until we got home." Subaki smirked a little, resulting in a glare from Owain.

"Well-" Subaki began, but he was cut off by a loud snore from Severa, who was slumped against his shoulder, presumably asleep. He sighed. "Well that's probably a sign that we should get going too." He attempted to wake Severa up as gently as possible, which of course just resulted in her being even more crabby upon waking.

"Ugh why do we have to leave now?" Severa asked, not seeming to notice that she had fallen asleep literally seconds ago. "At least pay for the food or something."

"Again, that's the law," Subaki said, shaking his head and pulling out some money for a tip. "Gentlemen, it was nice catching up with you. Let's do this again sometime." Severa was already halfway out of the booth and pulling on Subaki's hand, so the two left, leaving Owain and Brady alone.

"That was...weird," Brady commented. Owain nodded in agreement. "But I guess it is kinda late. We should probably head back."

"Probably," Owain agreed, yawning. The two got out of the booth and went to pay for their meal. Owain glanced over his shoulder and noticed a large carry out box was still there. He rushed over and grabbed it, stuffing it under his shirt dramatically and running out of the restaurant after Brady.

"Are those Severa's enchiladas?" Brady asked, confused as they got into the car.

"Yeah," Owain said gleefully, "they forgot them at the table and I doubt they're coming back for them. So I thought we could take them."

"Do you even like enchiladas?" Brady asked.

"Not really," Owain shrugged, "but now I'll know, deep down, the best thing I got out of this night aside from spending it with the people I love...plus Subaki...is that that jerk paid for an entire meal for me." Brady just shook his head as he drove home, but eventually laughed at Owain taking delight in taking the food. It had been a good night.


End file.
